Sara Gullickson, CEO of Item 9 Labs Corp., was recently featured in AZ Republic’s article regarding “Arizona medical-marijuana sales made huge gains in 2018.”

Marijuana sales are growing rapidly in Arizona.

Sales of medical marijuana surged 42 percent in Arizona last year, with patients buying 61 tons of the plant, edibles and other products at licensed dispensaries, according to a new state report.

The Arizona Department of Health Services no longer provides dollar estimates in its monthly sales reports. But based on the retail prices advertised by major dispensaries in the Phoenix area, the industry took in more than $400 million in revenue for the year, not including sales of pipes and other non-drug merchandise.

That’s a conservative estimate based on marijuana selling for an average of $3,300 a pound. The actual figure could be much higher. A report commissioned last summer by dispensaries in the state estimated the average retail price at about $4,800 a pound, but that it will decline as farms get more efficient.

The increase in sales outpaced the growth in new medical-marijuana patients.

The Arizona Department of Health Services data shows that the number of patients grew 22 percent to more than 186,000 in December. Patients pay a $150 fee to the state and about $100 to $200 to a medical professional to give them the needed certification.